WO2009060381A2 - Method of receiving or transmitting a phone call - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication system comprising: a phone (1,2) comprising a phone audio device, a personal computer (4) able to be connected to an Internet protocol network and provided with a computer audio device, said personal computer being connected to said phone, wherein each of the phone and the personal computer comprises a reception and transmission unit for receiving or transmitting a phone call, and wherein the personal computer comprises an application (8,9) configured to: detect if the phone call is initiated from the phone or the personal computer, select the computer audio device if the personal computer has been detected or the phone audio device if the phone has been detected, start reception or transmission of the phone call using the selected audio device.

Description

Method of receiving or transmitting a phone call

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method of receiving or transmitting a phone call using a phone or a personal computer. The invention also relates to a communication system comprising a phone and a personal computer being connected to the phone via a wired or wireless link.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Voice Over Internet Protocol VOIP emerging technology gives to end-users the advantage to perform phone calls at very low rate.

Conventional phones implementing VOIP technology are usually software applications running on a personal computer PC, which applications use peripheral capabilities of the PC such as a sound card and a broadband modem. These software applications are called softphones.

It is usually possible to connect a cordless phone to the PC, for example via a Universal Serial Bus USB wired connection. Such a cordless phone comprises a base station and a handset for wireless communication with the base station. The base station is connected to the PC via the USB wired connection and may also be connected to the Public Switched Telephony Network PSTN.

According to the known softphones such as the ones provided by Skype or Voipbuster, the audio device set in the softphone is the audio driver phone itself. Since the softphone can be used together with a cordless phone, it means that the cordless handset could be far away from the PC in case of an incoming call, and if the end-user is in front of his PC, he can be alerted by the PC but he cannot answer the incoming call from his PC. The problem is exactly the same for outgoing calls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to propose a method of receiving or transmitting a phone call using a phone or a personal computer, which is more convenient to the end-user than the one of the prior art.

To this end, there is provided a method of receiving or transmitting a phone call using a phone or a personal computer, said phone comprising a phone audio device, said personal computer being connected to an Internet protocol network, comprising a computer audio device and being connected to said phone, said method comprising the steps of: detecting if the phone call is initiated from the phone or the personal computer, selecting the computer audio device if the personal computer has been detected or the phone audio device if the phone has been detected, starting reception or transmission of the phone call using the selected audio device.

As a consequence, the method in accordance with the invention makes it possible to receive or to transmit a phone call through the IP network either using the phone or the personal computer on the basis of the user's context and not depending on the current audio settings of the above-mentioned devices, the user being able to chose the phone or the personal computer for example as a function of his proximity with one of the devices.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the phone is connected to a public switched network, the method further comprising the step of sending a notification of an incoming call coming from the public switched network from the phone to the personal computer via the wired or wireless link.

As a matter of fact, according to the prior art, an end-user who wants to use his computer in order to answer PSTN/IP incoming calls or to make PSTN/IP outgoing calls has to manually change the configuration of the audio input/output of the softphone audio device manager or to unplug the phone from the computer port. To the contrary, this embodiment of the invention makes it possible to receive or to transmit a phone call through the IP or PSTN network either using the phone or the personal computer according to the user's choice. The invention also relates to a communication system comprising a phone comprising a phone audio device, and a personal computer able to be connected to an Internet protocol network and provided with a computer audio device, said personal computer being connected to said phone, wherein each of the phone and the personal computer comprises a reception and transmission unit for receiving or transmitting a phone call, and wherein the personal computer comprises an application configured to detect if the phone call is initiated from the phone or the personal computer, select the computer audio device if the personal computer has been detected or the phone audio device if the phone has been detected, and start reception or transmission of the phone call using the selected audio device.

The invention also extends to a computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when loaded in the memory of a computer, makes the computer execute all the steps of the method in accordance with the invention. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the communication system in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the method used for configuring the audio settings in case of an incoming or outgoing call via the IP network; and - Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of the method used for notifying an incoming call and for configuring the audio setting in case of an incoming or outgoing call via the PSTN network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a communication system comprising a cordless phone and a personal computer. Said cordless phone comprises a cordless base station and a cordless handset. Said cordless phone is, in the following example, a dual phone which can be connected to Public Switched Telephony Network PSTN, such a phone operating for example in this case according to the DECT (for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone) standard or a similar standard, and which can also be connected to the Internet Protocol IP network, such a phone operating in this case according to the Voice Over Internet Protocol VOIP technology. In the latter case, the user can receive an incoming IP call or transmit an outgoing IP call either from the handset or from the computer. The following description is suitable for: - a dual mode PSTN/IP phone connected to a PC via a USB port. The link between the base station and the computer can be wired or wireless. The phone may include a wireless handset or a wired handset connected to the base station. The base station is intended to be connected to the PSTN network. a single mode IP phone, namely a single handset connected to the PC (a wired or wireless handset) via a USB port.

A communication system in accordance with the invention is depicted in Figure 1. Such a communication system comprises: a cordless handset 1 for wireless communication with a base station 2; the base station 2 able to be connected to a PSTN network 11; a personal computer PC 4 comprising a sound card speaker 13 and a microphone 12, and able to be connected to an IP network 6 using a broadband modem 5; a USB wired connection 3 between the computer 4 and the base station 2. It shall be noted the USB wired connection can be replaced by a wireless connection using a wireless USB dongle, which is seen as a cordless handset from the base station. In this case the communication links between handset and base station and between base station and USB dongle are achieved by using the well-known intercom mode; a collection of software applications running on the computer 4, such software applications including: a PC application software 8, which includes an audio mixer 14; a softphone Application Programming Interface API 9 which is a communication interface between the PC application software 8 and a softphone 10; and the softphone 10 such as Skype or Voipbuster software. In case of an incoming call or an outgoing call from the PSTN or IP network, the PC application software starts a ringing on the computer, and displays a confirmation IP or PSTN pop-up window asking to the end-user to answer the call. At the same time, the handset also rings. The end-user can answer the call either from the handset or from the computer. The same principle applies if the base station is directly wired to the PC, except that the intercom mode is no longer required.

The invention makes it possible to manage dynamically the audio input and output of the softphone audio device located in the PC. The audio device management is such that if the end-user answers the call from his phone, the softphone audio device is set to the phone audio driver for an IP call before establishing the call. Similarly, if the end-user answers the call from his computer, the softphone audio device is set to the computer audio driver for an IP call before establishing the call, or the local audio mixer is launched in order to switch the audio of the USB dongle or base station to the default PC audio device for a PSTN call.

Therefore, when the software application starts, the softphone API is used to set the softphone audio device to the computer audio driver. If the end-user receives or transmits an IP call from his computer, audio data are correctly routed in order to allow this call. But if the end-user receives or transmits an IP call from his handset, the softphone API is adapted to set the softphone audio device to the phone audio driver. Similarly, if the end-user receives a PSTN call from his computer, the local audio mixer allows to correctly route the audio data as explained before. Finally, if the end-user receives or transmits a PSTN call from his handset, the audio data are already correctly routed to allow this call.

Fig. 2 depicts the method used for configuring the audio settings in case of an incoming or outgoing call via the IP network.

In a step 210, all units are powered on including the computer and its own peripheral audio devices (sound card speaker and microphone).

In a step 220, the PC application software and the softphone API are launched. A test is then performed in step 230 to see whether the softphone is running or not. If it is not the case (no), the test is iterated on a regular basis.

If the softphone is running (yes), the softphone audio driver is configured so as to select the audio driver of the computer in a step 240. This selection is achieved via the dedicated softphone API functions such as SET AUDIO IN and SET AUDIO OUT for the Skype softphone. The AUDIO IN function is such that the SET command assigns a new audio input device for the Skype softphone. The syntax is SET AUDIO IN <device_name> where device name is the identifier of the computer in the present case. The AUDIO OUT function is such that the SET command assigns a new audio output device for the Skype softphone. The syntax is SET AUDIO OUT <device_name>.

In a step 250, it is detected whether the incoming call or the outgoing call is initiated from the phone or from the computer. This test performed by the PC application software using an interruption mechanism.

If the call is handled via the phone (yes) then the softphone audio device is set to the phone audio driver in a step 260. This operation is performed by the dedicated softphone API functions described above where the device name is set to the identifier of the VOIP phone. If the call is handled via the PC (no), then no specific operation is required since the audio data have been already properly routed in the step 240.

Finally, the end-user starts to receive or to transmit a call in a step 270; the call is in progress during a step 280 and the call is terminated in a step 290.

When the call is terminated, then the PC audio driver is set as the default audio driver (step 240).

Fig. 3 discloses the method used for notifying an incoming call and for configuring the audio setting in case of an incoming or outgoing call via the PSTN network. In a first step 310, all units are powered on including the PC and its own peripheral audio devices (sound card speaker and microphone).

In a step 320, the PC application software and the softphone API are launched. A test is then performed in a step 330 to see whether the base station is receiving an incoming PSTN call or not. This means that the base station is connected to the PSTN network and is in operation. When a ringing signal is sent to the cordless phone by the PSTN network, the base station detects this ringing signal.

If the ringing signal is detected (Yes), the base station sends, in a step 340, a notification signal relative to the PSTN incoming call to the handset and to the PC via the USB connection between the base station and the PC. In a step 350 the USB port of the PC receives this ringing notification and alerts the PC application.

In a step 360, once the PC application receives the alert relative to the PSTN incoming call, said PC application displays a pop-up window for signaling the PSTN incoming call and plays a ringing on the PC. This pop-up window contains a message asking the end-user if he wants to answer or not the call.

A test is then performed in a step 370 in order to know if the incoming call is accepted from the computer or not. If the call is rejected from the computer (No), the PC application hides the pop-up window, and stops the ringing on the computer in a step 440 and the PSTN incoming call is terminated with respect to the PC in a step 450. In a step 380, if the call is accepted from the computer, a local audio mixer integrated to the PC application is started in order to switch the phone audio device to the default PC audio device. In other words the audio data stream that comes from the phone audio device is sent to the PC application that routes the audio data stream to the PC audio device (i.e. the sound card speaker) through the audio mixer. A test is then performed in a step 390 in order to know if the softphone is launched, linked and running. If the softphone is linked to the PC application and running (Yes), the API commands are temporarily stopped in a step 460, this in order to not superimpose audio channels. Following step 460 or if the softphone is not linked to the PC application or not running (No), the PC application displays, in a step 400, a call management window in order to allow the end-user to terminate the call.

A test is then performed in a step 410 in order to know if the end-user has stopped the call. In a step 420, when the call is terminated (Yes), the PC application stops the local audio mixer in order to release the default PC audio device and closes the call management window. A test is then performed in a step 430 in order to know if the softphone is linked and running. If this the case (yes), the softphone API is waken up and reads the API commands coming from the softphone in a step 470. Following step 470 or if the softphone is not linked to the PC application or is not running (no), then the method starts again at step 330. Besides, following step 320, the user can transmit, in a step 480, an outgoing PSTN call from his computer by selecting the appropriate entry in a menu of the PC application. In a step 490, the PC application is adapted to retrieve the PSTN number (or contact number in a phonebook) of the remote party to be called. In a step 500, the call notification information is sent to the base station. In a step 510, the base station transmits the outgoing PSTN call to the PSTN network. The call goes on via step 380 and the following steps.

Concerning the management of audio data that flow through the USB link as described in Fig 2 and Fig. 3, the call notification and management commands use for example the "Human Interface Machine" of the USB specifications, and the voice data use the "audio mode " of the USB specifications.

It will also be apparent to a skilled person that PSTN calls can be received or transmitted directly via the handset. This is the conventional method already available and outside the scope of the invention.

The invention may be implemented by means of dedicated software. A set of instructions corresponding to this software and which is loaded into a program memory causes an integrated circuit of a computer to carry out the method in accordance with the software. The set of instructions may be stored on a data carrier such as, for example, a disk. The set of instructions can be read from the data carrier so as to load it into the program memory of the integrated circuit, which will then fulfils its role. For example, the software is copied on a CD-ROM, said CD ROM being sold together with the phone. Alternatively, the software can also be made available through the Internet.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be capable of designing many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed in parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" and "comprises", and the like, does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim or the specification as a whole. The singular reference of an element does not exclude the plural reference of such elements and vice- versa.

Claims

1. A method of receiving or transmitting a phone call using a phone or a personal computer, said phone comprising a phone audio device, said personal computer being connected to an Internet protocol network, comprising a computer audio device and being connected to said phone, said method comprising the steps of: detecting if the phone call is initiated from the phone or the personal computer, selecting the computer audio device if the personal computer has been detected or the phone audio device if the phone has been detected, - starting reception or transmission of the phone call using the selected audio device.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the phone is connected to a public switched network, said method further comprising the step of sending a notification of an incoming call coming from the public switched network from the phone to the personal computer via the wired or wireless link.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a step of switching from the phone audio device to the computer audio device using an audio mixer.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer is wirelessly connected to the phone using a wireless USB dongle plugged into the computer, the communication between the phone and the USB dongle being based on the intercom mode.

5. A communication system comprising: - a phone (1,2) comprising a phone audio device, a personal computer (4) able to be connected to an Internet protocol network and provided with a computer audio device, said personal computer being connected to said phone, wherein each of the phone and the personal computer comprises a reception and transmission unit for receiving or transmitting a phone call, and wherein the personal computer comprises an application (8,9) configured to: detect if the phone call is initiated from the phone or the personal computer, select the computer audio device if the personal computer has been detected or the phone audio device if the phone has been detected, start reception or transmission of the phone call using the selected audio device.

6. A computer program product comprising a set of instructions which, when loaded in the memory of a computer, makes the computer execute all the steps of the method as claimed in claim 1.